No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor) novel Chapter 1376

Just then, a hand offered her a tissue. Eleanor took it and closed her eyes, trying to accept the reality of the situation.

Her father's death was her fault.

Ian suddenly leaned down and gently patted her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself too much. Your father's death wasn't your fault, Eleanor. He loved you so much that he was willing to do all of this for you."

Tears slipped through Eleanor's fingers, dripping onto the floor. She couldn't forgive herself.

Suddenly, two hands grasped her shoulders. She looked up through her tears and met Ian's gaze.

"You can be sad, you can reminisce, you can have regrets, but you cannot take all the responsibility for this on yourself. Your father wouldn't want to see you like this," Ian urged in a low voice.

Eleanor's tears continued to fall. If it weren't for her, her father wouldn't have had to push his body to its limits in his final days, dying from overexertion.

She hadn't even made it back to see him one last time before he passed.

Eleanor's lips trembled as she bit down on them. "You should have told me. If—"

Ian gently cut her off. "There are no 'ifs.' You're his daughter, his greatest concern. Even if you had known, you couldn't have changed the outcome. This was his decision."

Eleanor suddenly broke down, crying out loud.

Ian sighed softly, leaned in, and pulled her against his chest, holding her tight.

Eleanor didn't push him away. At that moment, she was enveloped in pain and guilt, gnawed at by waves of intense remorse. She knew Ian was right; given her father's personality, once he set his mind on something, no one could talk him out of it.

"Your father wanted you to be healthy. If he could see you now, knowing you've solved his greatest challenge and fulfilled his wish, he would be at peace," Ian consoled her in a low voice. "Remember that patient, Marilyn? She had the same condition as your mother, and she's made a full recovery. Her daughter hasn't shown any signs of inheriting it. The probability of transmission isn't high; it might never pass to the next generation."

Eleanor's teary eyes shot up to meet the man's gaze. "So, the reason you were rushing my research back then was because Marilyn was the only available test subject in the country?"

Ian hadn't expected her to connect the dots so quickly. He looked slightly stunned for a few seconds before nodding. "Yes. Marilyn was the last subject with the same condition as your mother. If she had passed away, there would have been no one to test the cure on, even if you developed it."

Eleanor lowered her gaze. So that was why he had constantly pushed for progress, personally demanding weekly reports from her.

Marilyn's condition had already reached the terminal stage; her life was on a countdown.

"So, you were the one who covered Marilyn's medical expenses?" Eleanor asked, looking up at him again.